Our Little Affair
by JaminJazzi
Summary: "I see the look of love between you two." She then leaned closer to me and said lightly, "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me." - Mai is just a simple Crystal Innocence user who loves the Black Order, but there is just one thing that makes everything difficult for her and Lavi - love. Follow the two in this two-in-one story as they figure out if love is really worth everything
1. Chapter 1

**I just wanted to say that I DO NOT own DGray-Man or any of their characters. The only one I do own is Mai! **

**I hope you like the story! :D**

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"IT'S TIME TO STOP THIS!" I yelled as I landed behind the neck of the Komlin lV. I took my sword and sliced at its neck. His head then fell off of his giant robotic body as the rest of its body crumbled. I jumped off and pointed the tip of my sword at Komuis neck.

"Now Mai. Please be careful with that." He said with his hands up – trying to back away from my sword.

"You idiot! This guy is clearly not an Akuma or Allens eye would've activated it." I said through gritted teeth. _How the hell is he the Chief Officer of The Black Order?_

"But I was just being careful!" Komui whined. I twisted my sword in my hand in order to use the end of the hilt and hit his forehead with it.

"More like being stupid." I said as Komui fell back onto his ass while rubbing his forehead. I turned towards the snowy-haired Allen and his vampire looking friend.

"I'm sorry for his actions. Komui isn't the brightest light bulb at times." I rolled my eyes.

"I HEARD THAT!" Komui yelled from behind me.

"And you will be quiet before I turn around and hit you." I said over my shoulder. Komuis being stiffened as he dared not to speak. My sword disappeared from my hand.

"Thanks Mai." Allen said.

"No problem." I said. After we got the boys to stand up from their comfortable spots on the ground we headed into the tall dark bricked place we called home. I walked beside Komui and lectured him on not making his silly inventions while Lavi, Allen and Krory walked behind us silently.

"Yes Mai." Komui said with his head hung low.

"And if I have to kill another one of your stupid machines I will come after you next." I said.

"Alright." He said.

"Hey! I'm still covered in sauce here!" Lavi complained behind me. Komui's invention had had **another** misplaced wire and it thought that it would be wise to cook the three boys in a saucepan and cover them in mayonnaise.

"And how am I supposed to fix that?" I asked over my shoulder looking back at him.

"You could always lick it off of me." He winked at me.

"I'd rather shoot myself." I said as I looked back forward.

* * *

"So it was Krory who lived in the castle instead of Cross." Komui repeated the information that Allen had just given to him about his mission.

"Ya. Cross only visited for a short time." Lavi said.

"Dear heavens, where in the world is Cross?" Komui asked out loud. I was leaning on the side of his paper covered desk in his paper covered office. My arms were crossed over my chest. "Well we still managed to find Krory, so the mission wasn't a total loss. And by the way..."

* * *

Lavi, Allen and I stood outside of the double doors as Krory was screaming in the room. We all knew what Komui was doing in there. He had out his drill and had an evil smirk plastered on his face as he did what he loves to do. Torture people.

When first entering The Black Order you have to go through a physical examination. This physical examination goes through tests to show Komui what type of Innocence you hold. There are three different types of Innocence: Equipment, Crystal, and Parasitic.

* * *

Equipment Innocence is the most common known of Innocence. This Innocence usually takes form of common objects that can be found in everyday living (i.e. Lavi's Hammer). But even though this is the most common form of Innocence it is also the hardest to control. The Accommodator (i.e. Exorcist) must control their Innocence and must train with it. Unlike a Parasitic type – who can lash out a part of their body and still have full control.

Crystal Innocence is the evolved Innocence from Equipment Innocence. Instead of using an item the Innocence uses the Accommodators blood in order to make any weapon that can be used for their fighting (i.e. The sword that I used to kill Comlen lV and how is disappeared afterwards). So the Accommodator can use their Innocence as long as they have blood in their veins. This Innocence also does not need any commands in order to activate; it activates through thoughts and cues.

Parasitic Innocence is the rarest Innocence among the three. This type of Innocence makes the Accommodators weapon with a body part because the Innocence is actually infused within the Accommodator (i.e. Allen's left arm is a burgundy colour because his Innocence is located in the back of his hand and he can change his arm into a weapon for battle). These Accommodators also have an advantage; if they are poisoned with the Akuma Blood Virus (a virus that Akuma can give to a person if they are hit) their Innocence will begin to heal itself from the virus. The downfall of this Innocence though is that it drains their energy stores, so they have to have larger portioned meals and it puts a great deal of strain on their bodies which shortens their life.

* * *

"Well doesn't that sound pleasant?" Lavi asked after we heard screaming coming from the room we were standing outside of.

"Well we must all remember when that happened to us." I said, referring to what was happening inside. Allen shivered from the thought.

"I'll never forget it." He said.

"One of the worst experiences of my life." Lavi nodded.

"And just the way he looks at you." The three of us shivered in unison as the painful memories flooded us again.

* * *

I was walking down a hallway minding my own business. I was just letting my feet carry me away into the headquarters, thinking about something very important. Thinking of **someone** very important. I was pulled out of my thoughts when something grabbed hold of my right arm and pulled me into a nearby storage room. It was dark in the room, but when the light was turned on, I was facing Lavi.

"I was just thinking about you." I looked up at him.

"Oh really? What was it about?" He asked. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his body. I placed my hands on his uniform covered chest.

"It's a secret." I teased.

"But you can tell me." He said.

"Nope. It's my secret." I smirked up at him. Lavi let out a big sigh.

"Fine then. Hide things from me," He said.

"I will." I winked up at him.

"But that's not why I dragged you in here." His eyes softened on me.

"Then why did you?" I asked. Lavi bent down and placed his loving lips on mine. My arms went up and wrapped around his neck. As our lips parted he placed his forehead on top of mine. "Happy one year and six months." He said.

"Happy one year and six months." I repeated.

Yes, Lavi and I have been in a relationship for one year and six months. We're both 18. I've been at The Black Order since I was 14 and Lavi joined when he was 16. One of the most interesting things about our relationship is that it's a secret. No one else knows except for me and him.

**_There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. - Friedrich Nietzsche_**

* * *

OH THE CHEESE AT THE END! SOOOOOO CHEESY...ASDFGHJKL; Anyways, don't be too put off by the cheese at the end here! It gets better...so I've heard xD

-xoxo JaminJazzi


	2. Past - Chapter 1

**_It All Felt Like A Dream_**

_"__Hi, my name's Mai." I said as I outstretched my hand to the new boy in The Order. He smiled at me as he took my hand and shook it. _

_"__It's nice to meet you, I'm Lavi." His hair was such a magnificent colour. Red locks were kept out of his face with a green headband that had intricate black designs etched into the fibres. _

_"__Have you seen the dining hall yet?" I asked him. _

_"__No not yet. I don't know where everything is yet." He laughed at himself as he rubbed the back of his neck. _

_"__Well I'll take you there." I offered him my guidance. _

_"__Really? I'd like that." And before we knew it the two of us were chatting about ourselves as we walked to the dining hall for his welcome party._

* * *

_"__Hey! Bookman number two!" I yelled as I ran down the hallway to catch up to the familiar red headed boy. He turned around and smiled and waved at me as I ran up to him. _

_"__I told you not to call me that." He said as I finally reached him and stood in front of him. _

_"__Well I'll call you what I want, okay Pirate?" I winked at him. _

_"__I'm not a Pirate." He complained. _

_"__Well maybe if you answer my question I'll actually call you by your name." I offered as I wiggled my eyebrows. He sighed out of defeat. _

_"__What's the question?"_

_"__Tell me everything you know about Crystal Innocence." He cocked up an eyebrow as I looked at him with a straight face. _

_"__Everything?"_

_"__Everything."_

* * *

**_Lavis P.O.V_**

_"__Where's Mai?" I asked Jeryy as he handed me my tray with food. I noticed that I hadn't seen Mai all day and that wasn't like her. _

_"__No one ever sees her on this day every year." He said. _

_"__Why?" Jeryy looked around before leaning towards me. _

_"__You don't know?" I shook my head. "Her mother died on this day." He whispered to me. _

* * *

_I lied on my bed and stared up at my ceiling. I had no will to move. When I heard someone knock on my door I rolled onto my side. _

_"__Go away." I said, but they only knocked on my door again. I groaned as I got off of my bed, for the first time today and walked over to my door. I ripped it open and was surprised to see Lavi standing in front of me. _

_"__I brought you some food." He held up a tray of my favourite food to my face. I looked at him with a confused face. _

_"__I know you're new and all, but I don't like to see anyone-"_

_"__You need to eat and I'm not taking no for an answer." We stared at each other for a few seconds, but I was the one who cracked and took the tray. _

_"__Thank you." I said before closing the door and walking back to my bed. _

* * *

_"__Where is he?" I asked the nurse as I ran into the infirmary. Word had gotten back to me that Lavi had just returned from his latest mission, but it didn't go the way he planned. She pointed me into the direction of his bed. I slowly walked over to his bed and tried to figure out what my excuse was to see him because I didn't know myself why I wanted to see him so badly. _

_"__What're you doing here?" He asked me as I came into his view. _

_"__I heard you got yourself banged up." I said as I sat on the nearby chair. _

_"__I'm not that bad, I'm pretty strong, you know?" I laughed as I pointed to his bandage-covered arm. _

_"__That doesn't look like the sturdiest arm at the moment."_

* * *

_"__I thought you'd be up here." I heard a familiar voice behind me. I patted the brick beside me and he walked over to me and lied down beside me. _

_"__Isn't it just so pretty?" I asked him as he joined me in stargazing. It was a clear night, so above us looked like shimmering crystals covered the black velvet sky. _

_"__Ya it kind of is." He said. A chill breeze passed by us and a shiver ran up to spine. Without saying a word, Lavi reached over to me and pulled me into his chest._

* * *

_A yawn escaped my lips as I began to woke up. My eyes slowly opened and I began to move around, but my movements were limited due to something around my waist. I looked over to my left and saw Lavi sleeping comfortably. A small smile played on my lips as he quietly snored beside me. I reached up and my fingers began to play with his soft red hair. Lavi began to stir in his sleep before his eye slowly opened. _

_"__Good morning." He groggily said. _

_"__Good morning." I whispered. _

_"__What time is it?" I looked past him and towards the clock on my desk. _

_"__8:30." He groaned at the time. _

_"__Just five more minutes?" He offered. I laughed at the last time he offered that and we ended up sleeping for another two hours. _

_"__Nope. Come on sleepy head." Lavi pouted, but when he realized that I wasn't going to change my decision he got up from the bed and stretched. "You know, if you ever want me to not sleepover all you have to do is say so." I looked at him with a confused look. _

_"__Ya I know, but I've gotten used to you keeping me warm." I smiled at him. He smiled at me as he opened up my door. _

_"__Good because I don't think I want to sleep alone again." He said as he left my room._

**_I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once – John Green_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_One year and six months. That's a pretty long time. Still keeping up this charade was a lot tougher then I thought. It's worth it though._

"Hey." A voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up and saw Lavi looking at me. I was sitting at one of the many tables in the library with a book open in front of me. Without me realizing it, I had began to daydream and had forgotten that I was reading.

"Hey." I said. He pulled up the chair in front of me and sat down.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked.

"Just some stuff." I answered.

"It looked like some pretty hardcore stuff." His emerald eye squinted in my direction.

"It kind of is."

"Well I wanted to tell you that Komui has a mission for us."

"I was hoping to get a day off." I complained as I sighed and rested my chin in my hand.

"Well looks like you're stuck with me." He said with a smile.

"Is Bookman coming too?" I asked as I shot my head up in excitement.

"I don't know. Let's just get to Komui and then we'll ask." He said.

"Alright." I closed my book and stood up from my chair. While we walked to Komui's office I was secretly praying that Bookman wouldn't have to come with us on this mission. I just wanted some alone time with Lavi. Was that too much to ask?

* * *

"Their sky looks like the surface of the sun." Komui announced as he pushed up his glasses.

"The sun?" I asked.

"Yes. Before you enter the town the sky looks normal, but after entering the sky looks like the surface of the sun." He explained.

"So...fire basically?" I asked.

"Yes." He pushed up his glasses again. "Mai, you and Lavi will be heading out immediately." He ordered.

"What about Bookman?" Lavi asked.

"He has other business to attend to, so it will just be you two." I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from smiling. _There is a God up there! And he heard my prayers!_

"Will he be joining us later on?" I asked.

"Most likely not." Komui answered. _YES! I get some time with Lavi...too bad we're on a mission._ I mentally sighed at the situation, but I reminded myself that I should be thankful for what we have. "And Mai I think you will enjoy this mission." He added.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it's in your hometown." A small smile played on his lips as he gave me the news.

"What?" I was completely shocked.

"Don't worry your family is still safe. Actually it was your family that reported this situation. So I thought that you would be the best for the job." He smiled at me.

"Ya, I am the best for the job." I said.

"Now don't let this distract you from your duty." He said. I stood up from my seat on the purple couch and raised my fist and pressed it against my crest.

"It won't. It'll just make me that much more determined."

* * *

I leaned my head on Lavi's shoulder as we sat in a compartment on a train towards my hometown. He had his arm wrapped around my waist to keep me in position.

"We'll be meeting the Finder when we arrive." I told Lavi.

"Ok." Lavi said. A comfortable silence fell upon us. It was nice. "So I'll be meeting your family, huh?" I smiled at the thought of him meeting my aunt and cousins.

"Ya you are." However, my smile faded as fast as it had appeared. "But you'll be meeting them as my partner instead of my boyfriend." I felt Lavi's arm tighten around my waist.

"It'll be okay." He reassured me.

"I know it will be. It's just...I wish you could meet them as my boyfriend." I couldn't hide the sorrow in my voice.

"I know and I wish I could, but we both know we can't do that." I sighed. He was right. Since he's training to become a Bookman he's not supposed to have any relationships and that includes friendships.

* * *

A Bookman is someone who is entrusted by the Vatican to stay hidden away in the shadows and to write down history. In order to do so the Bookmen must keep all personal ties cut and must continue to write down history from a non-bias point of view. Also, they tend to live longer than their friends, so they find it easier to just not have any personal connections.

* * *

It's not like we didn't try to stop this from happening because we did! We knew that this is a taboo and could cost Lavi everything, but it happened. We fought it for so long and then we gave in to our emotions.

"Why does this have to be so hard?" I whispered.

"Because we decided to choose this path." He said. I sighed again. I know that we chose this path, but sometimes I wish that we were normal like everyone else. No Innocence. No Akuma. No Earl. Just normal everyday lives. "Hey Mai."

"Ya?"

"If you ever want us to split up because this gets too hard then I'll understand." My body sat up properly and I looked into his eye. Lavi gave me a serious face. I rarely see that face and to see it now –his eyes soft, but his tensed jaw. I knew him better than anyone else and I knew that even if I decided to end this relationship that he would let me. He loves me too much to keep me in a relationship that I don't want to be in.

"I'd never want to do that. Ya it pains me to not be able to be a couple together in public, but it would pain me even more if we weren't a couple at all." I said softly.

"I just want you to know that I'll never hold you back, if you ever want to leave." I wrapped my hands around his and gave them a little squeeze.

"Well I don't want to leave, so sadly you're stuck with me." I said with a soft smile.

"I don't mind that." He said as he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against mine.

**_Love is everything it's cracked up to be...It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. - Erica Jong _**


	4. Past - Chapter 2

**_Let's Dance The Night Away_**

_"__But I don't know how to dance!" Lavi complained in the middle of Komui's office. _

_"__Well you're going because all the other Exorcists are out on missions." Komui said as he sipped some more coffee from his mug. _

_"__Then it looks like I'll be standing off to the side." Lavi said. _

_"__Well I can always teach you how to dance." I offered. _

_"__You know how to dance?" _

_"__There we go! Now you guys can go and don't forget to catch your train tomorrow morning." Komui said._

* * *

_"__Ow! Lavi!" My face scrunched up due to the pain that was in my foot. Lavi gave me a cheeky smile as he tried to apologize for stepping on my foot for the nth time. _

_"__I'm sorry! I'm not used to this waltz thing." He said. _

_"__Have you never been to a dance before? Or danced with anyone?" I asked him. I noticed as he avoided making eye contact by paying attention to his feet. I felt my features soften as I saw sadness written all over his face. I stopped dancing and held his chin. I lifted up his head, so he could look me in the eyes. "It' okay. Practice makes perfect, right?" I flashed him a smile and after his confused look disappeared he nodded his head. _

_"__So let's get practicing." He said as he grabbed my hand and my waist again and the two of us continued to practice._

* * *

_"__Lenalee? Allen? What're you two doing here?" I asked as Lavi, Bookman and I walked into our compartment on the train. _

_"__We got back from our mission last night and Komui said that we should join you two." Lenalee answered. _

_"__Well he just wanted me to go since he didn't want Lenalee to dance with any boys." Allen added. I laughed as I sat down beside Lenalee and Bookman and Lavi sat beside Allen across from us._

_"__Was he crying again as he held onto you?" I asked her. She sighed at the memory of her brother. _

_"__When does he not? I think I act more like the older sibling than him sometimes." She answered._

* * *

_"__Lenalee you look so cute!" I yelled as I grabbed onto her hands. She stood in front of me wearing an emerald coloured dress. It was a sleeveless dress with a sweetheart neckline and a green sash placed under her bust. The chiffon material flowed down all the way to the floor like a waterfall. _

_"__You really think so? I'm surprised they have a dress that fits." She laughed. _

_"__Are you wearing your boots?" She lifted up her dress slightly to show me her boots. _

_"__Always, but I love your dress too." I twirled around once for her to show off my dress. I was wearing a dark blue chiffon halter dress. It had a v-neck neckline and was hitched under my bust all the way to my hips before it flowed a little past my knees._

_"__Thank you! Do you think they'll let us keep the dresses afterwards?" I asked her. _

_"__I hope so. I really like this dress." She answered. _

_"__You are here to work. Not to fawn over dresses." I turned around and saw Bookman standing with Lavi and Allen. Lavi and Allen were wearing suits that were provided for them. Lavi had on his orange scarf over his white button-up shirt, with a black blazer and matching trousers. _

_"__But Bookman! The dresses are so cute." Lenalee said as she twirled around. _

_"__Well how about you talk about how cute your dresses are after the mission?" He suggested before turning around and leaving the room. The four of us followed him like obedient puppies towards the ballroom._

* * *

_"__Go ask her to dance." I whispered in Allens ear. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I nodded my head in Lenalees direction. "Ask her to dance." I repeated. _

_"__But we have to be patrolling the dance floor because the Akuma should be here soon and-"_

_"__And that's all the more reason to actually dance on the dance floor, so go ask her to dance." I said one last time before pushing him forward. I watched as he awkwardly walked over to Lenalee and with one hand on the back of his neck he asked her to dance with red cheeks. She smiled and accepted the offer and the two of them wandered off on to the dance floor. _

_"__Would you like to dance?" I looked over my shoulder and saw Lavi smiling at me. I smiled up at him and nodded my head. _

_"__I thought you'd never ask." Lavi took my hand and walked me to the dance floor. He intertwined his fingers with my right hand as I placed my left on his shoulder and he placed his other on my hip. After a few steps I commented on how my feet have not been trampled on by his own, "I think our lessons paid off last night." _

_"__I believe so too." _

_"__I think it's because you had such an amazing teacher." I laughed as I looked up at him. He just gave me a soft smile with soft eyes before letting the words escape his mouth,_

_"__You look beautiful in that dress." He whispered. _

_"__And you look rather dashing." I whispered. We looked into each other's eyes and I swear I could've gotten lost in his emerald eye. The light music in the background gave a comfortable and loveable ambiance in the room. We danced silently as we just took each other in and enjoyed this time together before a large sound came from the back of the ballroom. Screams were heard as people began to run in the opposite direction. _

_"__Don't go ruining that dress too much." Lavi winked at me before taking out his hammer and running ahead of me. I shook my head with a smile on my face as I called upon my sword and followed him to take down the uninvited Akuma._

**_There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment. – Sarah Dessen_**

* * *

Hey YOU! Ya...YOU! I was just wondering if you could give this a follow or leave a comment down bellow. What do you think of the story so far? Do you think it has some potential? Tell me your thoughts or PM me! I don't mind! :D

-xoxo JaminJazzi


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I felt my spine crack its way back into place as I stretched. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I stood up straight and looked around. The last time I stood on this very landing was when I was 14 and as I breathed in the air and saw the unchanged train station I realized that time had flown by so fast, but yet it felt like it hadn't.

"Ready to go?" Lavi asked me. I looked up at him and smiled at him. I was prepared to share my hometown with him.

"Ready when you are." The two of us began to walk away from the train station and towards the man with the familiar yellow trench coat. He stood up against a tree and waited for us to come closer before he walked up to us and with a smile he greeted us,

"Hello, I'm your Finder for this mission, Tom."

"Hey Tom. So what do you know about this mission?" I asked him as the three of us began to walk towards the gate of the town.

"I'm sure I only know the same amount as the two of you. The sky in this town looks like the surface of the sun."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Lavi said. I looked up at him and I saw the gears in his mind turning as he tried to come up with a logical explanation for this.

"Well we're going to find out what's been happening and hopefully put a stop to it." I said before we wandered into the town. As soon as we passed the threshold Lavi and I both looked up. A yellow-orange-red fiery flame was covering the sky.

"What's going on here?" I asked aloud.

"I was just asking myself the same question." Lavi said.

* * *

I awkwardly stood in front of the mahogany door before I raised my fist and lightly knocked. I heard footsteps in the house as people began to rush around. I heard the familiar cry of my aunt as she yelled at my cousins to stop fighting with each other, but I wasn't expecting her to rip the door open and to pull me into her arms within a heartbeat.

"Mai!" She cried into my ear.

"Hi Auntie." I said as I patted her back.

"I can't believe you're here! I never thought that I'd see you again! Oh my Mai!" She held me at arms length and took in my petite size. "You look like a lady now! You're all grown up!" She cried once more before she finally released me from her grasp.

"Auntie I'd like to introduce you to-"

"Who're these handsome young men? I hope one of them is your boyfriend! Is it the red headed one? He's quite handsome. Let me get a better look at you." She pushed past me and walked over to Lavi and began to pinch his cheek. His left emerald eye closed from the pain, but he continued to smile.

"It's nice to meet you. I've heard many things about you." Lavi said.

"I hope they're good things!" My aunt shrieked.

"Of course. Mai only says good things about you." He said as he continued to smile. My aunt finally released his cheek and turned back around to look at me.

"Well come inside! I'm sure everyone will be very excited to see you Mai! Especially your grandmother." She dragged me inside the house by my arm while Lavi and Tom were left on the porch.

My aunt want was practically bursting to tell everyone of my arrival, so she quickly pushed me into the family room. My cousins, Grace and Mark, looked up from their spot on the couch and they stared at me with confusion. After a few seconds a smile spread across each of their faces as they realized who I was.

"Mai!" They both screamed at the same time as they ran over to me and gave me a hug. They had the same raven coloured hair that ran in the family with ocean blue eyes to match.

"Hey you two! Look how big you both have gotten!" I said as I crouched down and ruffled their hair. Grace and Mark are twins and, if I did my math correctly, they're both ten. I looked over my shoulder and saw Lavi and Tom casually looking at me. Lavi was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He shot a smile my way and I returned it. "I want you two to meet someone." I stood up and turned around. "You see that boy with the green headband?" I asked the twins. They nodded their heads. "His name's Lavi."

"Hi Lavi!" They both greeted.

"Hi you two. What's your names?" He asked them. He crouched down in order to make eye contact with the twins.

"I'm Grace." Grace said as she threw up her thumb and smiled.

"And I'm Mark." He said as he rested the palms of his hands on the back of his head.

"Well it's nice to meet you two." Lavi said with a smile.

* * *

**Lavis P.O.V**

I sat outside on the porch and enjoyed the cold breeze. I kept replaying the image of Mai when she saw her cousins in my head. The smile that was plastered on her face and the smile in her eyes was such a beautiful image. I've heard stories of them, but I never knew how important they were to her until then.

"Mind if I join you?" I looked up and saw Mais aunt standing beside me.

"Sure." She took the seat next to me on the porch before she let out a sigh.

"It's been a busy day." She said.

"It has." I agreed.

"Thank you." The words came out of her mouth so quickly and suddenly that it caught me off guard.

"For what?" I asked.

"For taking care of Mai. I know she likes to act tough, but she's a real softie. She needs someone to look out for her. She's been through so much, you know?" I nodded in agreement. I knew very minimal about her past, but I never minded. The little bit that I knew broke my heart to hear. "I still remember the day she was dropped off at my door when she was four. If you were there you would've cried. She was the cutest little girl that I had ever seen, but she was just so sad. All the time she cried and she cried and she kept saying how it's her fault her mother died. I killed mommy. I killed mommy. It broke my heart. Do you know the story?" She referred to Mai's background story.

"A little bit. The part that I do know..." I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence.

"Her mother and father were in love. They were childhood friends here, in this very town, and they both went off to The Black Order together. I knew they had to keep their relationship a secret in there. No relationships were allowed. But that didn't stop them. Her mother became pregnant with Mai and they hid it for as long as they could, but when she started showing The Order knew what they had been doing. Did you know that Mais mother also had Crystal Innocence?"

"Yes."

"Well, the day Mai was born was the day her mother died. No one understands how it happened, but after giving birth to Mai she lost too much blood to live. People thought that she had some internal bleeding somewhere, but then they looked at Mai and they realized that wasn't it. Do you know of the mark on her stomach?" I looked down at my hands as I remembered the first day I saw that mark on her stomach. The way my fingers moved across her body and the way our skin molded together. We become one that night. The mark on her stomach is a black circle that goes around her belly-button and it has marks on the outer rim – making it look like a sun.

"I do."

"Well when they saw that mark they realized that Mai must also have Crystal Innocence and that's the reason why her mother passed away because Mai somehow took her blood to survive. They believe it's because Mai was in danger when she was in her womb and that she needed her mothers blood to survive, but that's only a theory. None of the doctors knew the actual reason as to why her mother passed away. So her father took care of her for as long as he could. He named her Mai because her mother loved to dance and when she was carrying Mai she said she could feel her dance in her stomach. She didn't kick, she danced. My sister was always the odd one out of the two of us." She laughed at her own comment. "So her father named her Mai. He adored her. I still have the pictures she brought with her of her and her father. He loved her with all his heart, but when she was three her father had to go on a mission and he never returned. He died during battle due to an Akuma, but before he died he told his teammate to pass on a message to Mai. He said to tell her that he will always love his precious little dancer. Then they brought her to me. We were her only family left."

"I hope you know that she talks about all of you all the time. She loves you all very much."

"I know she does. She's a very loving person. I'm happy she's found you Lavi and I hope everything works out for the two of you." I was shocked at what she had said. _Did Mai tell her about us?_ I looked at her and she smiled. "I've been looking after Mai my whole life and she's never looked at anyone the way she looks at you. And I'm not blind. I might have lost some of my marbles, but I can see the look in your eyes too. It was the same look her mother gave to her father and the look he gave to her. I see the look of love between you two." She leaned closer to me and said lightly, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." And with that she stood up and made her leave. But before she left I heard her laugh to herself before saying, "Like mother like daughter."

**_To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves. - Federico Garcia Lorca_**

* * *

So...I need to let you guys know something...I actually wrote this story over 2 years ago! OMG TWO WHOLE YEARS! So I've been editing and fixing it up as I post and the past chapters are brand spanking new...so I'm warning you that there's about 10 chapters in this story plus 10 past chapters, so about 20 chapters...so how about you keep that in mind as the days go on and if you want to see a sequel by the end of this?

AND PLEASE COMMENT OR REVIEW OR WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO ON HERE!

-xoxo JaminJazzi


	6. Past - Chapter 3

**_I'll Protect You_**

**_Lavi's P.O.V_**

_I was lying in my bed with a smile on my face. Mai had spilled her porridge all over herself today in the dining hall because she accidentally slipped on a banana peel. The scene kept replaying in my head as she sat up with a face filled with shock and porridge. Instead of her getting upset and stomping away in a fuss she laughed at herself as she stood up. _

_That was one of the many things that amazed me about Mai. No matter what the circumstance she always managed to look on the bright side. She would always find a way to make you laugh and even if she told a horrid joke, you still laughed because her laugh and smile was contagious, especially when her smile would reach her blue eyes and the sides of her eyes would crinkle. _

_I looked to my door when I heard a light knock. I got off my bed and walked over. To my surprise, Mai was standing in front of me. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red and puffy. I gave her a quizzical look before ushering her inside. _

_"__What's wrong? Has something happened?" I asked her. She looked up at me with sad eyes and within a few seconds her bottom lip began to quiver as tears began to fill her eyes again. She let out a whimper before she buried her face in my chest. _

_"__I…it's…I can't." She said in-between breaths. I wrapped my arms around her and patted her head gently. _

_"__It's okay. It's all going to be okay." We stood there for a while until she calmed down. I silently moved her onto my bed and she sat down beside me. She stared at her hands as they clutched onto the end of her oversized shirt. I reached over and took her hands in mine before giving them a little squeeze. "Do you want to talk about it?" She took in a deep breath before opening up her mouth and explained to me what happened, _

_"__It was a nightmare. It was such a horrible nightmare and my parents…"She stared at her hands some more before continuing her sentence. "They were so close, but no matter how fast I ran they kept walking away and then…and then…I saw my mother dead on the floor and she was just bleeding and I couldn't help her and my father kept telling me it was all my fault and it just…"When I noticed that reliving her nightmare was difficult for her I pulled her into my arms again. She cried into my black shirt again as she relived her nightmare. _

_After she calmed down I lied her down on my bed. As I laid beside her I drew invisible intricate designs on her arm to soothe her to sleep. I examined her features as she slept beside me. Her cheeks were stained with her tears and I felt the urge to wipe them all away. I leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. _

_That was the night that I broke my promise to the Bookman clan because I had someone I wanted to protect._

**_I guess what scares me the most now is the thought that I won't be able to protect you. – Julia Hoban_**


	7. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Mai's P.O.V**

"So what do you think is causing this to happen?" Lavi asked me as the three of us wandered down the street. I looked up and the sky still hadn't changed.

"I have no clue and there's no one who has any idea as to why this is happening." A sigh escaped my lips. No clues. No leads. No way of finding out what's going on in this town. Lavi, Tom, and I were aimlessly walking around town asking people if they had any idea as to why this is happening. None of them gave us any proper answers that would help us solve this mission.

"I have an idea!" We heard a squeaky voice come from behind the woman at the door.

"Joseph stop. You did not start this." She said over her shoulder. A little head with ginger hair popped its way around his mothers thigh.

"I know how the sky changed!"

"I'm sorry about him. He has it into his head that he's the reason why the sky has changed." His mother apologized to us.

"That's because I am the reason. After I lost my science project in the big building the sky changed!"

"Sweetheart that's enough. These kind people don't have time to go looking for your science project."

"It's alright ma'am." I said to his mother before I crouched down to my knees. Joseph pushed past his mother as he stood in front of me.

"Do you believe me?" He asked me with hope in his eyes.

"Why don't you take me to this big building, okay?" He smiled at me before nodding his head. I stood back up and was greeted by Lavi whispering in my ear,

"Come on Mai. We don't have time to be looking for a project."

"It's the only lead we have. It's either we help this boy or we continue to walk around aimlessly. What would you rather do?" I whispered back to him. I heard him sigh before he agreed for us to do this.

The four of us began to walk down the road to the building Joseph was talking about. He held my hand as he talked about how he lost his project because he got scared by this 'monster'.

"What did this 'monster' look like?" I asked him.

"It was really big! It had these guns on its hands and it looked like it had a pointy hat on its head, but it was like...a part of his face!" I looked over my shoulder to Lavi and he thought the same thing I was thinking: Akuma. The things that we, the exorcists, have to fight in order to save the human beings of this planet.

* * *

The Earl makes these Akuma by coming to those people who have lost their loved ones and uses their grief and sorrow against them. He tricks them into attaching their loved one's soul to a skeleton body, so it can come to life and eat the insides of the living person in front and this allows them to walk around wearing their skin as their own.

* * *

"We're here!" Joseph announced. I looked up and saw that we had come to an astronomy tower. Joseph tugged at my hand as we walked towards the door of the building. Lavi tried to open it, but failed. He then put both of his hands on the knob and his feet on the glass and tried to pull again.

"If it didn't open the first time then what made you think it would open the second time?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders at me.

"You never know!" I shook my head before knocking on the door. I peaked inside and saw a janitor walking our way. He came to the door and opened it.

"How can I help you?" He asked.

"This little boy left something here and we were hoping we could come inside and get it." I explained.

"Only if you're quick. I need to finish cleaning."

"Thank you." The four of us walked into the building. I turned around and saw Lavi, Tom, and Joseph behind me. My mouth opened and I waited for my words to escape, but a burst of light came filled the room.

"What the-"

"Hello Exorcists." I looked around the room until I saw the janitor standing at the other end. "It seems you have come sooner than I expected to retrieve the Innocence, but no matter, I have a mess you can clean up." And before I could say a word Akuma came flying through different doors towards us. Big round sphere Akuma to ones that could talk and communicate with us.

"Tom! Get Joseph out of here!" I yelled back to Tom.

"Right!"

"Ready?" Lavi asked me as he stood beside me. He already had his hammer out of its holder and in his hand.

"As ready as I'll ever be." _Sword_. The black hilt of my sword appeared in my right hand and my fingers clenched around it. I jumped up and grabbed the hilt with my left hand as well before bringing it down onto the small face that was located at the top of the sphere-like Akumas body. It glowed and began to disappear as I jumped to the next and slashed through that one as well.

"Mai!" I heard my name being called. I landed on the ground and turned around to see Tom and Joseph still standing at the door. "The door won't open!" I began to run towards them.

"Get down!" I yelled before I swung my sword at the glass door and made it shatter. Tom quickly got Joseph out of the building. Once I knew they were safe I turned back around and ran back to Lavi. "Lavi!" I called out his name after I killed another Akuma.

"What?"

"Go get the Innocence before that man gets to it! We can't let him have it!" His face came into view as he gave me a stiff expression.

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. Just go!" He followed my request as he quickly fled the scene to grab the Innocence. I continued to slash my way through the different levels of Akuma before Lavi returned. By the time he came back there was only one Akuma left.

"Got it!" I heard Lavis voice boom as he ran back into the room as my sword came down onto the last Akumas face. When I landed on my feet my knees gave way from the exhaustion and I fell onto the floor. "Mai!" I heard Lavis footsteps as he rushed over to me before he helped me sit up. "Are you okay?"

"Ya I'm fine. Just a little tired." I answered.

"You're bleeding!" I looked down to my right arm and saw that I was bleeding down from my shoulder.

"It's not a lot Lavi."

"You know you can't bleed out or you'll lose your Innocence and you'll die." I sighed and nodded my head.

"Well I'd obviously know that, don't you think?" I tried to move my arm, but winced slightly from the pain.

"Hey stop. Let me get you out of here." Lavi said softly. I looked up and my eyes met his beautiful left emerald eye. It was times like these that I cursed him having that eye-patch on his right eye, but it made him special. Lavis face began to close the gap between us as his lips came dangerously close to mine. I could feel his breath on my skin as my nose became filled with his musky scent.

"Lavi? Mai?" The voice startled us so much that Lavi accidentally dropped me back onto the floor. I groaned in pain as I felt my shoulder get his by the tile. I opened my eyes and saw eyes surrounded by black circles, a clean shaven head, except for the little gathering of white hair on the center of a scalp and kept into place by a black hair-tie. Bookman (Lavi's mentor) had arrived.

**_A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. - Ingrid Bergman_**


	8. Past - Chapter 4

**_You Gave Me A Headache_**

_I hugged my knees to my chest as I re-evaluated everything that was in my mind. I was trying so hard to piece together the puzzle in my head, but I wasn't able to. He gave me this comfortable feeling around me, so it was only normal that I would want to see him when I'm upset. However, to always be worried about him when I'm not around is what confused me the most. He was a friend and a very good friend at that. When I realized that I was getting nowhere with my thoughts I left my room with a heavy sigh and went to go get some lunch._

_As I sat at a table with my sandwich I was rudely interrupted by Lavi and Allen. The two were talking as usual as they sat in front of me at the table. _

_"__So you've never kissed a girl before?" Lavi asked Allen with a face filled with shock. I watched the scene unfold in front of me as I continued to munch on my sandwich. _

_"__Um…well…that's kind of personal, don't you think?"_

_"__Oh Allen! Poor poor Allen. I can't believe you've never kissed a girl before!" Allen's face began to glow a bright red as Lavi continued to press the topic. _

_"__Well as Exorcists it's our duty to not have any personal ties to other-"_

_"__Ya I already know that, you don't need to fill me in on the rules, but that does not mean that you can't kiss a few girls here and there." I swallowed the piece of sandwich in my mouth before I spoke, _

_"__So how many girls have you kissed then, Lavi?" I cocked up an eyebrow at the red head in front of me. _

_"__I've kissed a few." He shrugged. _

_"__Only a few?" I pressed. _

_"__Well how many guys have you kissed?" He asked me. I gently leaned over the table, so only Lavi and Allen could hear what I was about to say, _

_"__I've kissed more than just a few." As Lavi and Allen stared at me with eyes filled with disbelief I stood up from the table and took my tray with me. I walked behind Lavi, but leaned down to his ear and whispered, "Are you jealous Lavi?" before I dropped off my tray and walked out of the dining room with a smirk on my face._

**_Lavi's P.O.V_**

_"__Hey Lavi…are you okay?" _

_"__I'm just peachy Allen…just peachy." I dropped the topic about Allen and his virgin lips as I began to shovel food into my mouth. If my mouth was full then I wouldn't have to answer any questions as to why I looked so upset all of a sudden. I was trying to distract myself from the fact of any other man being near Mai in such an intimate way and because of that I would stuff more food down my throat because I was eating out of guilt. I made a promise to the Bookman clan and here I was silently getting jealous over something Mai had just said to me. _

_As soon as I finished my meal I bolted out of my chair. I could feel Allen stare at me with a confused look as he said, _

_"__Are you sure you're okay?"_

_"__I'm fine…I just have a headache. I think I need to lie down." I answered before I walked away and dropped off my tray. I didn't completely lie because I did have a headache, but I don't think it was something that could've been fixed with a nap. _

**_I think things that I shouldn't. I dream things that I shouldn't. I want things that I shouldn't and it's all because of one thing – I do care about you. – H.M. Ward_**


	9. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"B-Bookman!" Lavi stuttered as he stood up. Lavi had completely forgotten about me. Bookman gave him a quizzical look as Lavi awkwardly stood in front of him.

"A little help?" I asked. Bookman was in front of me within a blink of an eye. He held out his hand and helped me back up. "Thank you Bookman. Glad to know someone hasn't forgotten about me."

"Hey!" Lavi piped in.

"Mai let's get back to your aunt's house. I need to put a bandage on your wound quickly." Bookman ordered.

"But it's not even that bad. I'm not bleeding out excessively." I explained.

"We can't take any chances." He said. Bookman then quickly ruffled through the pockets in his jacket until he found a handkerchief. He handed the white cloth to me. "Keep pressure on your arm. It'll help stop the bleeding until we get back." I took the handkerchief from him and pressed it to my arm.

"Thanks."

"Did you get the Innocence?" Bookman asked Lavi. Lavi opened up his jacket to reveal the green-glowing-gear-combined shape.

"Got it right here and I got Joseph's science project back too." He said with a smile.

"Then let's get going." I said. The three of us walked outside of the building and saw Tom and Joseph waiting outside by a nearby tree. The two ran over to us and stopped in front of us. I bent down to Joseph's height, so I could talk to him.

"Did you find it?" He asked. I nodded my head. I looked over to Lavi and he immediately took out the sun figurine. He handed it to the little boy. "Thank you!"

"I do have a question for you Joseph, where did you find that green glowing thing?" I asked him as Lavi showed him the Innocence.

"On the ground. I was walking around one day and I was passing this alley when I saw something shining. I went to go check it out and it was that thing. I thought it looked pretty cool and I wanted my sun to glow because the real sun glows, right? So I picked it up and put it inside my sun." He explained. I nodded. "But did you look up at the sky? It doesn't look like fire anymore! It's blue again!" And sure enough, Joseph was right. The sky was a light blue again.

"Well next time you see that just keep it in a chest or something and wait for someone wearing the exact same crest as me to come and get it, ok?" Joseph looked at the multi-starred crest above my left breast.

"Okay!"

* * *

I had my right arm wrapped up in bandages as my wound began to heal. I was sitting up in bed as Lavi was staring out the window. Bookman had just left to go grab a few things and Lavi and I took this opportunity to talk about what almost happened.

"Why did he show up all of a sudden?" I wondered.

"Maybe they know about us..." Lavi inquired.

"I don't think so. If they did then they would've told us and probably demote you and kick us both out of The Order." I said.

"Well I'm just glad he didn't come a second later." Lavi said.

"Why?" I questioned. He peeled his eyes away from the window and looked at me with a smirk.

"Because the old panda would've been jealous that you were getting a kiss when he's probably never been kissed in his life."

"You know Lavi, maybe he has been kissed...maybe he's been in love!" I said dramatically.

"The day that old panda's in love is the day I grow wings and fly." We heard the doorknob begin to turn before it opened and in walked Bookman. He sat on the chair beside my bed and looked at my arm.

"How does it feel?" He asked.

"I told you that it never really hurt." I explained.

"Well we can never be too careful." He said.

"He's right about that. You need to be more careful next time." Lavi said.

"I'm always careful!" I defended myself.

"What about the time you thought it'd be fun to jump off a bridge?" Lavi asked.

"I was curious."

"Or that time you almost chopped off Komui's head by accident?" Bookman asked.

"Now he had that one coming to him."

"Or what about the time when-"Bookman cut Lavi off.

"We could sit here all day and talk about how you aren't careful, but we don't have the time. We need to head back to The Order and report what we found and hand in the Innocence." Bookman told us.

"Yes Bookman." Lavi and I said in unison.

* * *

"Good work you two! Maybe you two should go on missions alone more often." Komui said to us. The three of us, Lavi, Bookman, and I, stood in his office as we had just finished telling him what happened in my hometown. "But looking at Mais arm...maybe you two shouldn't go on missions alone again." I sighed. _Everyone needs to stop worrying about this God damn cut_.

"Well we get a break now, right?" I asked.

"Nope! You two have another mission, but Allen and Lenalee will be joining you three on this one."

"Alright, what's this mission about then?" Lavi asked.

"I'd love to stand here and explain everything to you, but Lenalee and Allen are already at the boat waiting for you three, so you should get a move on. Here's the booklet that will explain everything! Good luck!" Komui tried to push us out of his office, but he accidentally hit my arm. I made a slight grunting sound as he did and Lavi immediately stood in front of me and faced Komui.

"Be careful you idiot! You just hit Mai on her arm." Lavi told him off.

"Lavi let's go." I began to tug on his arm.

"It was an accident." Komui said in a high pitched voice. He was hoping his baby voice would get him out of trouble.

"Lavi. Let's. Go." I urged as I tugged on his arm. I quickly looked over at Bookman and saw that he was giving Lavi as suspicious look. I finally had enough of his tough guy act and pulled him away from Komui.

Bookman was walking several feet in front of Lavi and I as we made our way to the boat. Lavi knew I was upset with his recent outburst, so he stayed quiet.

"Don't do that again." I whispered harshly at him.

"It's not my fault. He shouldn't have-"

"No excuses. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and move on" Lavi stayed silent. He knew I was right. I needed to keep quiet not only for me, but for himself too.

**_The wise are wise only because they love. The fools are fools only because they think they can understand love. – Paulo Coelho_**

* * *

**So...who wants to be fabulous and leave me a review or PM me what you think of everything so far! I'd really appreciate it! :D**

-xoxo JaminJazzi


	10. Past - Chapter 5

**_I Don't Remember My Life Without You_**

_"__Lavi."_

_"__Hm?" With my head on his lap I looked up to him. He had his back pressed against the brick wall of his room as silence filled the hallways of The Order. _

_"__Is it hard being a Bookman?" He gave me a quizzical look. _

_"__What do you mean?" _

_"__I mean…you have to keep all ties severed, right? You have to write history in the eye of a non-biased person and isn't that hard? I mean…what if you love someone? What do you do then? It can't be easy." He didn't look at me, but instead he stared out the window towards the night sky. _

_"__It can be very hard." _

_"__Lavi?"_

_"__Yes?" _

_"__Is there someone?" He turned his head and looked at me. "Is there someone who makes it so hard for you?" He didn't say a single word. He just looked at me with soft eyes as a small smile tugged at the sides of his lips. _

* * *

_"__Where are you going?" I turned my head to see Lavi sitting at a nearby table. I was wearing shorts and a fancy white tank top that had intricate black designs. I threw my hair up in a bun to keep it out of my face. _

_"__I decided to have a day off. There's this restaurant I want to go try out." _

_"__Who're you going with?" He asked me. _

_"__No one…I'm going alone." He stood up from his spot to look at me with a surprised face. _

_"__Who goes to eat a restaurant alone? I cannot accept this!" _

_"__What the…Then what're you going to do about it?" _

_"__I am coming with you." He announced as he stood in front of me. _

_"__But what about Bookman?" _

_"__The old panda can look after himself for one day." I sighed as I realized that he wasn't going to drop this. _

_"__Fine, but you have to change." He looked down at himself and looked back at me. _

_"__Why?"_

_"__This is a fancy restaurant and you should not be showing up in your uniform."_

* * *

_"__What are you two doing?" Without breaking eye contact with Lavi I answered the sound of Allen's voice. _

_"__We're making funny faces." _

_"__And whoever laughs first loses." Lavi said. We continued with our contest. Lavi had stuck out his tongue and made it reach up over his top lip to touch his philtrum. He pulled at his ears as he moved his eyes to look at his nose._

_"__But that doesn't make sense…why would you two want to do that?" Allen asked. _

_"__Why don't you just leave these two alone, huh?"_

_"__But Lenalee…"_

_"__Come on…there's a reason why these two are best friends…they're not normal."_

* * *

_"__Hey pretty lady! Why don't you come over here?" _

_"__I could show you a real fun time!"_

_"__Why don't you leave your boyfriend and come have some fun with me and my friends?"_

_As men tried to grab my attention on the street I groaned out of annoyance. The fact that they believed that they could call me over like an animal was degrading._

_"__Didn't anyone ever teach you idiots how to talk to a lady?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I turned around to see that the boy I was walking with was now walking towards the men with his hammer in his hand. _

_"__You got some nerve kid." _

_"__Do you kiss your mother with that mouth you piece of crap?" Lavi asked him. _

_"__None of your damn business, but we just wanted to know how good your girl is in bed. Mind if we try her out and see for ourselves?" And before they could say anything else Lavi had already knocked the three men away with his hammer. He turned around and stomped back over to me and grabbed my arm and dragged me away. _

_"__Lavi, why did you do that?" I asked him. He continued to look forward with a stern look on his face._

_"__Because you deserve to be treated like a lady." He answered._

* * *

_"__What're you doing?" You asked Lavi. I felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze since he wasn't looking at my eyes, but he was looking towards my chest. _

_"__What's it like?" He asked. _

_"__Excuse me?" He finally made eye contact with me. _

_"__What's it like to have boobs?" _

_"__WHAT?" I practically yelled in the middle of the dining room. _

_"__Doesn't it hurt when you run and stuff? Is that why we don't have a lot of girl exorcists?" _

_"__WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME SUCH A QUESTION?" _

_"__Are they squishy?"_

_"__WHAT THE HELL, LAVI?"_

_"__Can I feel it?" He reached out his hand, but I quickly lifted up my tray and stood up from my chair. I slammed my tray and all the food it was carrying into Lavi's face. _

_"__WHY'RE YOU SUCH A PERVERT?" _

* * *

**_Lenalee's P.O.V_**

_I smiled as I watched Lavi and Mai eating lunch together as usual. Mai threw her head back as she let out her harmonious laugh into the room. Lavi looked at her with a smile on his face and soft eyes that showed how much he adored her every being. _

_"__How are you today?" I looked up to see Allen sitting across from me. I clutched onto my mug filled with my herbal tea as I looked back at the two people in love. _

_"__Aren't they just perfect?" _

_"__Who? Mai and Lavi?" Allen asked me. I nodded my head as I took a sip of tea. _

_"__They make it look so easy to have something that special."_

_"__What're you talking about Lenalee?" I watched as Lavi reached over and pointed towards Mai's porridge. She lifted up her spoon and fed him a spoonful of her favourite porridge. As he swallowed her favourite food she watched and waited to know what his reaction would be and when he gave her a smile filled with approval she smiled at him. _

_That was the thing that Lenalee thought was so special. Anyone who looked close enough could see how in love those two are, but to anyone who just walked by, wouldn't notice it at all. They kept their love and admiration to themselves. It was for them and them alone. They didn't want to flaunt it or show it off to the world in some obnoxious manner. They looked so content to just show each other how much they meant to the other. _

_"__Love, Allen. I'm talking about love." I answered._

**_You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together. – Nicholas Sparks_**

* * *

**WE HAVE HIT THE MIDWAY POINT! 10 MORE CHAPTERS GUYS! 10 MORE~ Anyways, I would really appreciate it if you guys left me a review or a PM or something to let me know how you like the story so far and if you want a sequel! So please do that! :D**

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	11. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"So a travelling Magician goes from town to town and performs tricks." Lenalee said.

"But whatever town he goes to multiple people end up dying and they're always the ones who are already at death's door." I said.

"Or pretty women." Allen added.

"Then after he leaves there are always reports of Akuma in the city." Lavi said.

"So this Magician is killing off the people who are already almost dead." Lenalee thought out loud.

"And pretty women." Allen added in again.

"Which means, he's setting up people for The Earl to come and make Akuma." I added. Lenalee, Allen, Lavi, Bookman and I were all sitting in our train compartment as we made our way to our destination.

"The town of Yudenger is his next target, right?" Allen asked.

"Yes because he's going to the towns that have a high attendance rate at their hospitals." Lavi said.

"And pretty women." Allen chirped in.

"It makes it easier for him to get a lot of Akuma fast." Bookman added.

"You think he might be a part of the Noah family?" Allen asked.

"It's possible. The Noah family is when the Noah-gene is activated in a humans body. This then leads them to have hatred towards the other humans and allows them to also have powers that are not caused by Innocence. So this Magician is probably a part of the Noah family because he would need to be able to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time. He'd also need to do it in such a way that he wouldn't get caught." Lavi explained. _God I love his brain. No wonder why he's going to become the next Bookman. _

"But there's also another possibility." I pointed out.

"What's that?" Lenalee asked me.

"He could be a soul broker too, like the one you and Allen ran into, remember?"

"Oh ya…the Director at the hospital…what're they called again…"Allen placed his index finger on his chin as he tried to recall the name.

"A collaborator. That's another possibility or he could be a highly advanced Akuma, but I guess we won't properly know until we see him." I said.

* * *

"Now come back with useful information." Bookman said.

"We'll be watching you guys from afar." Allen said.

"Remember to look coupley!" Lenalee told us. Lavi and I were volunteered to act as a couple in order to get closer to the Magician that was in town. We need to see if his face is the same as the face in the pictures that we have received. The only thing that made this difficult was that we could not go in our group and we couldn't wear our uniforms. He would know who we are by the crest on our chest.

"We got this guys. We'll be fine." I assured them.

"Ya! You should have more faith in us." Lavi said as he threw his arm around my shoulders.

"Putting my faith in you, Lavi, would be sending the world into chaos." Bookman said.

"Come on panda!" Bookman then jumped in the air and raised his leg. The heel of his foot came crashing down on Lavis head.

"Stop calling me panda!" He yelled. Lavi rubbed the top of his head.

"Come on boyfriend. Let's go see the Magician!" I pulled Lavi along. This was the only time when we could be a couple in public and I was prepared to take advantage of it. Lavi immediately intertwined his fingers with mine as we walked away from our group.

Lavi walked in front of me, fingers still intertwined with mine, as he pushed past the crowd. He stopped once we reached the front. He pulled me to his side and let go of my fingers, so he could wrap his arm around my waist. My first instinct was the lean my head on his shoulder and his was to place a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"This feels so right." He said against my hair.

"I know. I wish we could do this every day." I said as I relished in the moment.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen!" We heard a male voice say. Lavi and I looked towards the booth and out came the Magician. He wore his trademark black top hat with his glass oracle above his right eye. This was the man in our picture.

* * *

I woke up from my sleep when I heard a loud bang. The roof of my room was ripped off and all I could see was the Magician peering in. I sat up in my bed and got ready. _He fell for it_.

"Sorry my dear, but this has to happen. I just need one more, so I can leave this town and move on. You understand, right?" He then fell towards me. _Sword._ My sword appeared just in time for me to block off his dagger. He looked at me with a confused look as I pushed him back.

"You fell for it. I'm not just some regular girl you can kill." I said as I stood up.

"You're an Exorcist. Sneaky...I didn't even know when I saw you in the crowd, but where's that boy you were with?" He asked.

"He's right here!" Lavi yelled as his hammer came crashing down through the whole in the roof and onto where the Magician was. When Lavi picked up his hammer the Magician was gone.

"Up here!" We heard a voice sing. We both looked up and saw the Magician sitting on top of an Akuma.

"Why don't you try this trick on for size!" Lenalee yelled as she came into view. Her two black pigtails swung behind her as her legs were outstretched. Her Innocence (The Black Boots) was activated and the sea green glow rose from her ankles. Her feet collided with the Akuma and it immediately began to glow before it disappeared.

"Try again!" Lavi and I jumped up onto the roof and looked around. Akuma was floating all around us. We were too late. He had already taken his victims tonight and I was going to be the last one on his list.

"Ready?" I asked Lavi.

"Ready as I'll ever be." We both jumped up at the same time and headed for an Akuma. My sword went right through mine as Lavi smashed his with his hammer. Allen clawed his way through them with his metal arm and Bookman threw his poison filled needles at them.

**Lavi's P.O.V**

We all ended up stopping what we were doing when we heard a scream. Lenalee was flung over his shoulder as he was making his getaway. Mai, Bookman, Allen, and I were all standing on the same rooftop when we saw Lenalee being taken away by the Magician. Before I could think of anything Mai ran past me at lightening speed. Her sword disappeared and she jumped off the building. Everyone knew that Mai took pride in her training, but when I saw her begin to chase after the man that had Lenalee I felt my heart jump into my throat.

"Big Hammer Little Hammer grow, grow, gr-"I was stopped by Allen grabbing me. He pulled me back from the edge of the building.

"Stop Lavi! You can't go anywhere! You have to stay here!" He yelled at me. I turned around abruptly and stared at him. I saw his form move back a step from the glare I was giving him.

"Do you not see what Mai did? She's being an idiot that has run off all by her own to go get Lenalee back! She needs backup!" I yelled at him. Didn't he understand that she needs me right now? My heart was racing in my chest as I visualized Mai lying somewhere. I needed to save her. I needed to be with her. There was no way in hell that I was going to stand back and let her go through with this. _She's my everything_.

"But we need you here!" He yelled at me.

"I can't let her die Allen!" I yelled back at him.

"She's not going to die! Are you talking about the same Mai I'm talking about? She's too stubborn to die!" Allen yelled at me.

"You better be right Allen." I said as I got my hammer ready again and was getting myself prepared to kill off the rest of the Akuma.

* * *

**Mai's P.O.V**

My feet landed on the closest roof I could find when we returned to the town. Lenalee slid off my back and onto her feet. I let out a sigh of relief since I knew my dear friend was now safe and our of danger.

"Mai!" I heard my name being yelled. By the time I looked forward Lavi had wrapped his arms around me. "You idiot. You shouldn't leave by yourself, it's dangerous and reckless." He said in my ear. My arms wrapped themselves around him as I hugged him back.

"I had to. I had to save Lenalee." I said. He held me at arms length and looked me up and down.

"Don't ever do that again, okay?"

"Okay." Was the last word that came out of my mouth before I felt my legs go to jelly and my brain shut off. Everything went black and the only thing I could hear was Lavi yelling my name.

**_Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. – Kahlil Gibran_**

* * *

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	12. Past - Chapter 6

**_Let Me Protect You_**

_"__It's so cold." I shivered as I rubbed my hands together. Lavi and I were sent on a mission in the middle of a snowy mountain. _

_"__I told you to bring a warm coat." Lavi scolded me._

_"__I did, but I'm still cold." I blew my breath into my hands and rubbed them again, trying to keep them warm. I was surprised when I felt a soft material wrap around my neck. I looked down and saw a familiar orange coloured scarf keeping me warm. I looked up to Lavi with a raised eyebrow. _

_"__Don't you need this?" _

_"__I don't need you catching a cold. You're pretty troublesome when you're sick." He shrugged his shoulders as he continued to walk forward. _

* * *

_"__Hey pirate, we don't allow your kind here!"_

_"__Do you want to steal our women and money?"_

_"__Are you deaf, pirate?"_

_"__Hey don't ignore us!" _

_I gritted my teeth as Lavi and I continued to hear a group of men badgering Lavi because of his eye patch. My fists clenched and unclenched themselves as I tried to keep my anger at bay because Lavi didn't seem fazed at all. _

_"__Damn pirates, they don't deserve to live." _

_Without me realizing it I had called upon my sledgehammer and turned around to face the group of men. I brought the hammer down right on top of the first one I laid eyes on. His face collided with the stone road. I glared at his comrades and watched them cower away from me. _

_"__Do any of you want to say something else?" I asked them. They shook their heads in unison as they all said, _

_"__No ma'am."_

_"__Good, now I suggest you learn to accept other peoples differences than assuming things, got it?" _

_"__Yes ma'am."_

_"__But before I go…"I lifted my hammer and hit every single one of them on their heads. As they lied on the ground and groaned in pain. I walked passed Lavi and continued forward. "God, I hate idiots." Lavi just laughed at my comment as the two of us began to leave the town. _

* * *

_I walked over to my door and opened it. Lavi stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. I smiled at him and gave him a small wave. _

_"__What brings you here? Coming to see me off before I leave?" He grunted as he pushed passed me. I looked at him with a confused face as I closed my door. "What's the matter with you?" _

_"__You're not going." He said sternly. _

_"__What?" He turned around to face me and I saw the seriousness in his face as he looked at me. _

_"__You are not going on this mission." We stood there in silence for a few seconds as I tried to figure out why he would say something like that. _

_"__You can't stop me from going."_

_"__I will if I have to." _

_"__What the hell Lavi? You aren't my father! I'm going on this mission!" I raised my voice. _

_"__No you're not! You just got out of the infirmary yesterday and your wounds still haven't properly healed!" He yelled. I felt my eyebrows knit together as I glared at him. _

_"__Who do you think you are, huh? Walking into my room and demanding that I stay here! You have absolutely no right to do such a thing!"_

_"__I'm trying to keep you safe!" I raised my arms up in the air out of disbelief. _

_"__From what? I'm an Exorcist, Lavi, and it's my job to go out there and fight off Akuma!"_

_"__But you can't fight if you're still injured!"_

_"__I made the conscious decision that I am well enough to go on this mission, so I'm going!" _

_"__No you're not damn it!"_

_"__Why do you want me here anyways? Why can't I go?" _

_"__Because I don't want you to get hurt!"_

_"__That's not a good enough reason!"_

_"__Yes it is! Can't I worry about my friend?"_

_"__Of course, but you have to trust me enough to not get myself killed!"_

_"__Then I'll come with you!"_

_"__No!"_

_"__Why not?"_

_"__Because I'm a big girl and all of this has come out of nowhere!"_

_"__Stop arguing with me on this!"_

_"__Then why do you want to protect me so badly?"_

_"__Because I care about you!" His words rang in my room as I stayed silent. Both of our chests were rising and falling at rapid paces due to our adrenalin. I couldn't accept what he had said because that would have meant that he felt the same way I do and that he was just as confused as I. _

_"__What?" I whispered. Lavi sighed and sat down on my bed. He held his face in his hands as he began to explain himself, _

_"__I care about you, Mai. I don't want anything to happen to you and half the time I just want to lock you in your room, so you'd never get hurt again."_

_"__Lavi…"I took a few steps towards him. I kneeled down in front of him and peeled his hands away from his face. I could see how hard he was trying to keep his emotions and tears at bay. _

_"__I broke my promise to the Bookman clan and if they ever find out they'll kick me out. All my training would be for nothing."_

_"__Oh Lavi…"_

_"__And it's all because of you. I just want to protect you all the time and be with you whenever I can. I'm not supposed to get close to anyone and I thought that I could do that, but when I met you…you changed everything, Mai." _

_"__You don't have to protect me."_

_"__I know I don't have to, but I want to. I have this constant urge to hold you and there's not one single book that I've read that can explain to me why." I had a feeling that I knew what he was talking about, but I didn't say a word. I didn't want to scare him with such a big and powerful word in this kind of state. _

_"__I care about you too, Lavi." _

_"__Huh?"_

_"__I care about you so much and I have for a very long time. I don't know what to do about the Bookman clan, but I do know that we can just be there for each other."_

_"__But we don't know what this whole thing is."_

_"__Then let's let it be, okay? Let's see where this takes us."_

_"__I guess there are some things you can't learn in a book." He said. I gave him a soft smile. _

_"__I guess so." And without telling Lavi I stood up and gave him a hug. Lavi hesitated as he wrapped his arms around my waist and brought me closer. As I sat on his lap and continued to hug him in silence I realized why I always wanted to protect him too and to never leave his side. I loved him. _

**_When I am walking in front of you, I am there for you. When I am beside you, I am there for you. When I am behind you, I am watching over you. When I am alone, I am thinking of you. – Anonymous _**

* * *

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**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	13. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Lavi's P.O.V**

I watched as her chest rise and fall. The love of my life was knocked unconscious and I couldn't do anything to wake her up. I just sat in my chair and watched over her. She looked like she was sleeping. She looked so at peace.

"Lavi?" I looked over my shoulder and saw Bookman standing at the door.

"Ya?"

"Can I speak with you?" He asked. I nodded my head and got out of my seat. I walked towards him and stepped out of the room. He closed the door behind me and leaned against it. I leaned against the opposite wall and folded my arms across my chest.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to discuss why you reacted the way you did when Mai used her wings." He said.

"Look, Bookman-"

"You know that you should not have any sort of friendships or relationships Lavi. It's completely forbidden. Exorcists can have friendships, but neither Exorcists nor Bookman are allowed to have relationships."

"I know."

"Are you having a secret relationship with Mai?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me Lavi."

"Don't be ridiculous old man."

"You do know that if you are in a relationship with Mai then you will not be allowed to become the next Bookman."

"Of course I know that." My frustration was building up inside of me. There were too many thoughts going around in my head that I was getting agitated by a few questions from Bookman.

"So let me ask you again, are you in a secret relationship with Mai?"

"We're not!" My voice raised a little louder than it should have in that moment. He looked at me for a couple seconds. I could tell that he was taking in all my recent outbursts. He was putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.

"I suggest that you go take a walk."

"But Mai-"

"I will have someone inform you if there is any change, but as of right now, you need to go calm down." I looked away from him and gritted my teeth together. There was no negotiating with Bookman. Once his mind was set on something then it would take an atomic bomb to move him.

* * *

I walked around the local town. There were couples walking everywhere today. There was a teenage couple having ice cream together on a nearby bench. A newly married couple was walking together, fingers intertwined, down the street. There was even a little boy and girl who chased each other around and ended up telling each other that they were going to get married when they grow-up. _Couples. EVERYWHERE! Why couldn't Mai and I have something like this? Why can't I just grab her and kiss her when I feel like showing her how much I love her? Why did we have to have Innocence?_ I was jealous. I was jealous of all the happy couples in the world. All because I couldn't be publically happy with Mai.

**_I met in the street a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, his cloak was out at the elbows, the water passed through his shoes, – and the stars through his soul. – Victor Hugo _**


	14. Past - Chapter 7

**_Hold My Hand_**

_"__I can't believe you got us lost." I sighed as Lavi and I looked at the map in front of us. Lavi had sworn up and down that he knew where our hotel was, but alas, he got us completely lost. _

_"__We just took a wrong turn up there, so if we-Hey!" Lavi ran up to me when he noticed that I had walked away to the closest store. _

_"__I say we just ask where the hotel is." I suggested. _

_"__No! I can find our way."_

_"__Excuse me," It was too late for Lavi to protest my actions since I had already walked over to the individual working the cash register. "we're terribly lost and I was wondering if you could point us in the right direction."_

_"__Of course I can deary." The old woman behind the counter gave me a gummy filled smiled. "Where are you headed?" _

_"__To the Archbishop Inn." I answered. As she ran a hand over her neatly combed back salt and pepper hair she gave me directions. _

_"__If you go up this street and make a right, then walk about here and then make a left and it should be this building right here." She showed me the route on the map that I placed in front of her. _

_"__Thank you so much." She stifled a laugh as she waved her hand at me. _

_"__It's no problem. Was it your boyfriend there that got you lost?" I was confused by the question and looked behind me to see Lavi looking at the hats that she had on display before trying each one of them on. I sighed at his childish behaviour before turning back to the lady. _

_"__Oh he's not my boyfriend, but I must say – men, you can't live with them or without them." She laughed at my comment. _

_"__You are most right, but they can be useful sometimes, you know?"_

_"__Well I'll come back and tell you when he becomes useful." I joked before Lavi and I left the small shop. _

_"__What were you two talking about?" Lavi asked me. _

_"__How useless men are." I answered as I continued to look at the map to make sure that we were headed in the right direction. _

_"__We're not useless! We're very helpful, especially me!" He proudly puffed out his chest as he pressed his fist over his heart. I shook my head as we continued our walk. _

_"__You got us lost…I'm pretty sure you're not __**that**__ helpful." I pointed out. _

_"__That hurt Mai, that really hurt." He gave me a pouty face as he stuck out his lower lip. _

_"__Cry me a river you big baby." _

* * *

_"__It looks like we made a mistake." The receptionist announced. Lavi and I raised our eyebrows as we looked at the man in front of us. _

_"__A mistake?" I questioned. _

_"__It seems that whoever booked the two of you forgot to place the two of you in separate rooms."_

_"__So we're sharing a room?" Lavi asked the man. _

_"__I'm afraid so, sir." Lavi let out a sigh of relief. _

_"__Is that all? Oh we don't mind." Lavi waved off the problem as he took the key from the guy and began to walk towards the stairs. The receptionist watched as Lavi walked away with a confused look as I sighed. _

_"__Men…so useless." I mumbled as I followed after Lavi._

* * *

_"__It's so pretty!" Lavi and I walked around the streets of the town during their annual lights festival. There were candles of different colours, different light shades and fireworks lighting up the sky. _

_"__It sure is." Lavi agreed. We walked to a nearby stall and asked to try one of the treats that the vendor was selling. As we demolished the treat in front of us I saw a bit of the strawberry sauce on the corner of Lavi's mouth. I laughed as I used my napkin to wipe it away. _

_"__Why are you such a slob?" I joked. _

_"__I wasn't thinking about how I'm eating it…it's so delicious!" I laughed in agreement with my partner. _

_"__Come see the ending fireworks! Come on everyone!" We heard kids begin to rally up the townsfolk as everyone made their way to the center of the town. Lavi and I followed everyone else and stood among the crowd. We patiently waited for the remaining fireworks to be shot up in the sky and when they were we were not disappointed. _

_As each one exploded against the dark velvet sky the sparks left a warm feeling in the sky. I smiled up at the sky as I admired the work of art before me, but I was surprised when I felt something take hold of my hand. I looked down and saw Lavi's hand holding mine. I smiled to myself as I moved my hand, so our fingers would intertwine. I leaned my head on his shoulder as the two of us continued to watch the fireworks. _

_"__It's so beautiful." I commented. I felt him squeeze my hand slightly as my also made a remark, _

_"__Yes, yes it is."_

**_I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun. – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice_**


	15. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Mai's P.O.V**

I was walking around by myself in this little town. After I recovered from my latest injury Komui sent us on another mission. No rest for Exorcists. Lavi told me about the talk Bookman had with him, so for this mission we're both keeping our distance from each other. This is probably the hardest thing we've ever had to do because we were both used to being able to joke with each other without people getting suspicious, but now we can't even do that. I sighed out of frustration.

"Excuse me." I heard a tiny voice come from behind me. I turned around and saw a little boy with a navy blue baseball cap on his head.

"Hey there." I crouched down to his level.

"Can you help me?"

"Sure." It wasn't like I was doing anything extremely important. I was just sulking about my own love life.

"I lost my baseball in a creepy house and it scares me and I was wondering if you could help me. My mommy always told me to trust the people wearing your coat." He said.

"Of course I'll help you sweetheart." I stood back up and I held out my hand. His little fingers fit into mine and he led me to the house where his ball was.

**Lavi's P.O.V**

I impatiently stomped around the hotel room. Mai left four hours ago and no one has seen her since. I knew that pacing the room would look suspicious, but that was the least of my worries at this point. There could be countless of possibilities as to what had happened to her and I was going through each and everyone one at that moment in time.

"What's wrong with you?" I jumped at the sudden question from Lenalee. I turned around and looked at her.

"Mai's been gone for four hours, this isn't like her." I said.

"Ya you're right...maybe she found a lead?"

"But then she would've came back and told us."

"Maybe she's helping out someone?"

"For four hours?" I asked in disbelief. Lenalee sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'm going to get Bookman and Allen and we'll all go out and look for her." She said before she left the room.

* * *

"Have you seen this girl?" I asked a man on the street as I shoved a poorly drawn picture of Mai in his face. He shook his head. I sighed. The three of us have been looking for Mai for almost an hour and I was getting even more nervous. No one seemed to know where Mai had gone.

"Hey guys come over here!" I heard Allen yell from across the street. I quickly turned around and ran over to him. He stood in front of an old woman with a scarf around her hair. She sat on a chair and continued to eat her porridge.

"What's up Allen?" Lenalee asked him.

"She said she saw Mai walk by here." He said to us. "So ma'am, can you tell us which way she went?" He asked.

"She was walking with a little boy. I overheard him talking about going to the old house up the road. He left something there or something. My ears are pretty good for my age, but they're not what they used to be. Back in the day I used to be able to hear anything. I had special ears I did, but now...you youngsters better appreciate your sense of hearing while you still can." She said.

"And maybe our marbles while we're at it because she's lost a few." I whispered to Lenalee. She elbowed me in the stomach to silence me.

The three of us followed the ladies advice and walked up the street. The house we approached was made of dark wood, the windows were cracked, the front door was tall and dark – it looked like a house from a scary movie. I walked up to it and knocked on the wood.

"Hello? Anyone home?" I called out. No answer. I knocked again, but still no answer.

"Maybe she got it wrong?" Lenalee proposed.

"Maybe. She didn't seem completely sane." Allen said.

"Then where could she be?" I whispered to myself. I turned around and prepared myself to leave with the rest when we heard an ear piercing scream from inside. "MAI!"

**_In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing. – Mignon McLaughlin_**


	16. Past - Chapter 8

**_You're Stuck With Me_**

_A part of me was feeling guilty the past few days. Every time I saw the familiar red head I would quickly turn the corner before he noticed that I was there. Any mission that I was assigned to I was partnered up with someone else because I just didn't want to be with him. _

_A frustrated sigh escaped my lips as the back of my head rested on the brick walls of my room. I was weighing all the pros and cons to this situation again, but for some reason I couldn't pick a con that outweighed every single pro, but there was one pro that threw all the cons in the trash. _

_Love. _

_I knew Lavi had noticed that I was keeping my distance from him, but it was because I wanted to protect him. I was putting his needs before my own and his needs contained the Bookman clan and nothing else. As I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them I tried to comfort myself. _

_All I wanted to do was hug him, laugh with him, hold his hand, and be with him all the time, but I couldn't. I knew we weren't allowed to, but my whole heart wanted to just break the rules and do it all anyways. _

_But Lavi…_

_It would be one thing for The Order to find out if I was in a relationship, but it would be another if Lavi was in one. But then I had to play with the idea of a relationship. Was it really worth the risk, considering the lifestyle that we lived. My eyes scanned over the pictures that were held in frames on my desk. _

_One was an old picture of my mom and dad. They were both smiling at the train station as they waved goodbye to their family. He had his arm wrapped around her waist in a protective manner as she had hers loosely wrapped around his. That was the day they joined The Order. _

_Another one was of my aunt, her two children, and my grandmother. My grandmother sat in the middle on the couch, with her snow white hair pulled back into a neat bun. My two cousins sat on either side of her with matching grins on their faces, while my aunt stood behind my grandmother and smiled at the camera._

_I was lucky to be able to see them, but I was only allowed to when there was a mission in the town and I've only been able to see them once since I came to The Order. I guess being supportive and having several family members in The Order can benefit you in the long run. _

_The third picture was of Lenalee, Allen and I. My arms were wrapped around their necks as I brought them closer to my face. With both of them on either side of my face I smiled at the camera. The duo matched my smile as the three of us took the picture. _

_The last photo was of Lavi and I. My short height couldn't compare to his as I stood beside him. The picture was captured as the two of us laughed at each other. We had tried to take a proper picture before, but we couldn't stop making funny faces or pulling bunny ears behind the others head, so Allen, who was taking the picture, gave up on trying to take a normal picture of us and decided to capture that very moment. Two friends laughing at each others foolishness. _

_This whole scenario felt so wrong, but at the same time it felt so right. It was one of those moments where you want to break the rules because you know that you can't live with them. That those rules can be incredibly ridiculous at times – even if they're there to keep you safe, but that's what made us human. Even when people wanted to protect us, we still want to be able to do things our own way. To live our own life. _

_I was confused when I heard someone knock on my door, but I stood up and went to answer it. _

_"__L-Lavi?" The redhead that I was avoiding was standing right in front of me with a smile on his face. _

_"__Hey Mai! We're going on a mission." He said. _

_"__Huh?"_

_"__Come on! Kamui has the details in his office and we're supposed to go on the mission because everyone else is already out on theirs." _

_"__B-but…"Lavi grabbed hold of my wrist and pulled me out of my room. As the door closed behind me he dragged me down the hallway. _

_"__Now I don't know why you've been avoiding me,"_

_"__I haven't-"_

_"__Give me some credit, will ya? Anyways, I don't know why you've been avoiding me, but you can't avoid me forever, we're friends remember? You're stuck with me." He looked over his shoulder at me and gave me a wink with his cheeky grin before I felt a small smile play on my lips. _

_"__Ya, I guess I am stuck with you."_

**_Love won't be tampered with, love won't go away, push it to one side and it creeps to the other. – Louise Erdich_**

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